whistleblower Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 With Thai/Cambodian relationships getting worse, I was wondering if they went to war, who do you think would win? I think Thailand has better equipment? and Cambodia has more experience of war. Anyone out there with military background who could enlighten me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLUEEYEDTHAI Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Nobody wins in war,no matter what they told you in school.Been there done that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBlack Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 The weapon suppliers win - everyone else loses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whistleblower Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 I agree with both replies, but in military terms who is superior? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkkjames Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 I agree with both replies, but in military terms who is superior? Are you naive by choice? Cambodia has no money mate. Anyways the US, oops I mean Thai military is much superior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whistleblower Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 I agree with both replies, but in military terms who is superior? Are you naive by choice? Cambodia has no money mate. Anyways the US, oops I mean Thai military is much superior. Not naive, but have read lately about the 200 or so guards who failed to stop a few farmers breaking into Govt house, also the 20,000 troops needed to ensure a safe ASEAN summit. With all the money in the world, is Thailand capable of defending itself with the poorly trained troops it has? (Excusing the Thai SWAT team featured in BTIT, they rock!!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkkjames Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 I agree with both replies, but in military terms who is superior? Are you naive by choice? Cambodia has no money mate. Anyways the US, oops I mean Thai military is much superior. Not naive, but have read lately about the 200 or so guards who failed to stop a few farmers breaking into Govt house, also the 20,000 troops needed to ensure a safe ASEAN summit. With all the money in the world, is Thailand capable of defending itself with the poorly trained troops it has? (Excusing the Thai SWAT team featured in BTIT, they rock!!!) Sorry mate, thought it was pretty obvious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stickman Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 If it came to a war - and it won't - Thailand would crush Cambodia. It'd be no contest. More manpower and more machinery are just the start... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OxfordWill Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Shouldnt we consider treaties in place.. anyway it wont happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whistleblower Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 I agree with both replies, but in military terms who is superior? Are you naive by choice? Cambodia has no money mate. Anyways the US, oops I mean Thai military is much superior. Not naive, but have read lately about the 200 or so guards who failed to stop a few farmers breaking into Govt house, also the 20,000 troops needed to ensure a safe ASEAN summit. With all the money in the world, is Thailand capable of defending itself with the poorly trained troops it has? (Excusing the Thai SWAT team featured in BTIT, they rock!!!) Sorry mate, thought it was pretty obvious. Like the US military might would win Vietnam? or Korea? or Afghanistan? or Iraq? Dont think its that cut and dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahtin Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 You don't rock and roll at a ballroom dancing event. This game has rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunder30101 Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 The us has supplied nothing but training to thailand for many years so dont think they will be pulling out any smart weapons soon. Most of thailands and cambodias equipment is vietnam era swag. I have thought about this myself and think it would be nothing but a war of attrition thru the use of small arms and light artillery. No air power, armor or heavy weapons involved, so it will just come down to trading real estate and who is the most determined and willing to sacrifice their soldiers to hold it. But I do think the khmers will be willing to sacrifice more in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whistleblower Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 The us has supplied nothing but training to thailand for many years so dont think they will be pulling out any smart weapons soon. Most of thailands and cambodias equipment is vietnam era swag. I have thought about this myself and think it would be nothing but a war of attrition thru the use of small arms and light artillery. No air power, armor or heavy weapons involved, so it will just come down to trading real estate and who is the most determined and willing to sacrifice their soldiers to hold it. But I do think the khmers will be willing to sacrifice more in the end. I agree. I think the Khmers are more of your hard nosed, do or die wont budge an inch type, whilst the thais would be more prepared to give up land and then save face in school text books for the next generation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 It would not be very pretty. The Thai military seems to have a lot of incidents with aircraft. Helicopter accidents, planes not in very good shape etc. They also don't seem to have much stomach for stuff. The Cambodians are war hardened people and have a history of war still in their psyche. I don't know who would win, but it wouldn't be very pretty. It would also be very sad and foolish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawnGnome Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Won't happen, so all this conjecture by the bar stool generals don't really matter at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whistleblower Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 It would not be very pretty. The Thai military seems to have a lot of incidents with aircraft. Helicopter accidents, planes not in very good shape etc.They also don't seem to have much stomach for stuff. The Cambodians are war hardened people and have a history of war still in their psyche. I don't know who would win, but it wouldn't be very pretty. It would also be very sad and foolish. But when it comes to countries where face is more important than diplomacy i think its a real possibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kikoman Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 The us has supplied nothing but training to thailand for many years so dont think they will be pulling out any smart weapons soon. Most of thailands and cambodias equipment is vietnam era swag. I have thought about this myself and think it would be nothing but a war of attrition thru the use of small arms and light artillery. No air power, armor or heavy weapons involved, so it will just come down to trading real estate and who is the most determined and willing to sacrifice their soldiers to hold it. But I do think the khmers will be willing to sacrifice more in the end. I agree. I think the Khmers are more of your hard nosed, do or die wont budge an inch type, whilst the thais would be more prepared to give up land and then save face in school text books for the next generation. I believe that Thailand spends to much money on its vast pool of generals, about 450 for the Thai Army alone, Australia has in the two digit numbers for its army. It reminds me of South Vietnam that had to many War Lords (Generals) that know nothing about fighting a war, I feel that is the greatest weakness in the Thai armed forces, to many chiefs and not enough Indians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geriatrickid Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Perhaps a reminder of real politik in SE Asia is needed here? China would not approve of a war, even though it would make a profit on selling arms. Vietnam would not allow Thailand to get too far with Cambodia. The more appropriate question to ask is how patient would China and Vietnam be? In SE Asia, war creates refugees. Thailand does not have the ability to care for the hundreds of thousands of thai citizens that would flee the zone of conflict. The Cambodians can take hardship as they've lived with it for a few generations now. As soon as a few wayward ordinance hit some Thai villages, the Thai population, which hasn't seen the hardship of war would rise up and blame the perceived elites that brought the scourge of war upon it. It's easy to talk of heroic battles and the glories of war from the comfort of a Bangkok villa. Doing it from a burnt out soggy place with dismembered civilians lying about as flies feast upon entrails is something quite different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunder30101 Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Wont happen ??? what country are you in bar stool keyboard clown ?, It already has on a small scale at the temple and surrounding areas, a few thousand troos sitting around with weapons pointed at each and now you add in the taksin problem coming to thailands doorstep thru cambodia, yellow shirts beating their chests screaming for land and blood. Freaking recipe for disaster if i ever seen one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgw Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Cambodia has no air force. About 25 aircraft in total, less than 10 fighters, and those fighters are planes that are exposed in historical museums in Europe: i.e. Mig 21 for example. Thailand has over 100 fighters, mainly F-16 and F-5. Cambodia's tanks look no better, they use T-54 and Chinese T-59 - these too are mainly known from war museums, and are outnumbered 1 to 10 by Thailand's much more modern machinery. Taking a wild guess, I would say Thailand is stronger by a factor of 100. But as many said before, such a war won't happen. For what ?? And there is just no realistic scenario that could lead to war: Cambodia is in no position to attack, so the attack should come from Thailand ?? For what ?? A war is something totally different from some practice shooting on some former Khmer Rouge soldiers in the Preah Vihar region... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dumball Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 There is an age old stradgedy in war fare 'It ain't what you got it's the way that you use it '. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinnieTheKhwai Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 (edited) How about a surgical strike to go after Thaksin though? Success or fail, that could escalate things. It wouldn't be Abhisit's decistion either; maybe he'd hear about it when it was underway. Edited November 10, 2009 by WinnieTheKhwai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharecropper Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 The Cambodian army, who have already had THEIR traumatising political episode, resulting in a strong sense of nationhood, as opposed to the convenient fallacy peddled by the elite in Bangkok, would never capitulate to the Thai army, which, whilst it has some decent fighting units, would not stand a chance when it came to hard psychological, killing warfare, especially in the jungles on the border. In the fight they would likely have, superior weaponry would count for little. Psychology would matter more, and that rules out the Thai army I reckon. I think and hope it would never happen, but a stray bullet, a jumpy solider, or a politically motivated (Thai) general could just set it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whistleblower Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 Cambodia has no air force.About 25 aircraft in total, less than 10 fighters, and those fighters are planes that are exposed in historical museums in Europe: i.e. Mig 21 for example. Thailand has over 100 fighters, mainly F-16 and F-5. Cambodia's tanks look no better, they use T-54 and Chinese T-59 - these too are mainly known from war museums, and are outnumbered 1 to 10 by Thailand's much more modern machinery. Taking a wild guess, I would say Thailand is stronger by a factor of 100. But as many said before, such a war won't happen. For what ?? And there is just no realistic scenario that could lead to war: Cambodia is in no position to attack, so the attack should come from Thailand ?? For what ?? A war is something totally different from some practice shooting on some former Khmer Rouge soldiers in the Preah Vihar region... i dont think your argument holds water. The taliban dont have planes or tanks but they have been keeping the us and its allies busy for years! And politics take no part in these Asian countries. Politicians will go with the majority. If the yellow shirts kick up a storm who will stop em?? The police? like they stopped the airport takeovers? Or the military who stopped the red shirts from wrecking the ASEAN summit in Pattaya? Or the military who engineered the coup? This is a prime time for power hungry (read opportunity to make billions) Generals etc to use this opportunity for their own benefit, albeit at the expense of the misery of the millions of innocent thais. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarangBuddha Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Thailand would get its toot kicked...it has continually lost territory to its neighbors over the past 400 years. They got their nuts handed to them by the Lao army <deleted> not long ago Currently, the Thai army is getting its butt kicked by a few hundred separatists in the South. No, the Thai army is only good for parading around Bangkok in funny hats on Trooping of the Colours Day, staging coups against civilian (i.e., unarmed) governments, and shooting and killing peaceful student demonstrators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dumball Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 The amount of grief and pshycological damage done to the enemy by small groups of elite soldiers behind enemy lines in WW2 and subsiquent battles , tend to even the battlefield somewhat . Elite does not neccessarily mean trained in specifics , but war hardened in actual combat , it was not that long ago a small contingency of Loas chased off the might of the Thai army . Hun Sen is noted to have his own small army of elitist troops . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fletchsmile Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 I guess it depends to an extent of how you define winning in this context. TBH tho, I couldn't imagine either side winning: 1) As mentioned above there are often no winners in this sort of scenario 2) I doubt either country is actually capable of organising and then carrying out what is militarily necessary to "win" in such a crossborder conflict. Any end would likely be the result of third party intervention whether peaceful or conclusive military action as I simply don't think either country capable of resolving this type of issue in a miitary manner on their own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimsKnight Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Don't concern yourself with such worry's just try and steer clear of any fighting and wait out the bitter end... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thongkorn Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 The us has supplied nothing but training to thailand for many years so dont think they will be pulling out any smart weapons soon. Most of thailands and cambodias equipment is vietnam era swag. I have thought about this myself and think it would be nothing but a war of attrition thru the use of small arms and light artillery. No air power, armor or heavy weapons involved, so it will just come down to trading real estate and who is the most determined and willing to sacrifice their soldiers to hold it. But I do think the khmers will be willing to sacrifice more in the end. I disagree , Thailand has some up to date planes from America and some good Uk equipment as well as Chinese. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whistleblower Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 The us has supplied nothing but training to thailand for many years so dont think they will be pulling out any smart weapons soon. Most of thailands and cambodias equipment is vietnam era swag. I have thought about this myself and think it would be nothing but a war of attrition thru the use of small arms and light artillery. No air power, armor or heavy weapons involved, so it will just come down to trading real estate and who is the most determined and willing to sacrifice their soldiers to hold it. But I do think the khmers will be willing to sacrifice more in the end. I disagree , Thailand has some up to date planes from America and some good Uk equipment as well as Chinese. Yes they have bmw/audis and toyotas too, dont mean they can f@#*ing drive them in a straight line!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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